The Thorn In My Side
by MaryandMerlin
Summary: An original nightworld story with mostly original characters. Some of the known characters feature. In the search for the last wildpower the mission that Thorn and Isabella undertake is of vital importance and new information is revealed that can change the course of the war forever. Can they get over their issues with each other to save everything? Original Pairing. Rewrite.
1. How It All Started

**A/N: Hello All! This is my story The Thorn In My Side, this is actually a rewrite of a story I wrote 4 years ago and I thought it needed a little refreshing so I hope you like it. Welcome all my new readers! It's going to be pretty different to the other one so you definitely don't need to have read the other one aha. So please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do own the original, so I own the idea. But not the fandom or anything to do with the fandom **

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The Thorn In My Side

Prologue – How It All Started

Many people would have assumed that the room was empty, as was the rest of the house. It was an abandoned house, situated right on the outside of town that no one ever went into and mostly forgot about. Until a few hours before nothing very exciting had ever happened in this house when the whole world of a small family was turned upside down.

This family consisted of only three people; a mother, a father and a small child of only two years old. They were not a normal family, no matter how hard they tried to be, after having run away from the mother's family they attempted to blend in with the crowd but it was very hard for 3 shape-shifters to go unnoticed. Eventually, they were found.

As I said, many people would assume that the room was empty, but it wasn't. Underneath the side table, tucked into the very corner of the room, draped in an old, tattered and musty tablecloth, was a small bundle of fur. This small bundle was shaking violently.

Young Isabella had shifted, due to her fright, into her wolf form although it was of no use or protection to her. Her young mind tried desperately to comprehend the events of the day, but they all blurred together in a confusing mess of images and emotions that she couldn't understand.

Her mother, looking scared as she picked Isabella up this morning, babbling frantically about something to her father that she was too sleepy to understand. Driving for hours, scenery rushing by as she tried to hand her head out of the window. She was too little to have good enough control over her shifter tendencies. Coming to this house, late at night. Then suddenly her mother, hiding her under the table. Lots of loud noises, men shouting, a woman screaming. She had peaked out but it was too dark, figures rushed around the room, occasionally caught in the moonlight like grotesque camera flashes. Then silence. The men had left.

All she really knew was that she was alone.

Hours later more people arrived and as Isabella heard them she started whinging uncontrollably the fear taking her over. She just wanted her mummy.

Someone lifted the dusty tablecloth. "Hey" came a woman's voice "over here."

Another person crowded over and Isabella flinched away. "Oh look at her, she's terrified. She must have seen the whole thing. Come here little one, we're going to take you somewhere safe." A man's voice soothed her as he reached under the table scooping the shifter pup into his hands. "It's okay" he stroked the raised hackles until she relaxed in his arms "we're going to take you home."

Isabella couldn't see anything as they carried her away. She whimpered slightly, looking for her mother and father. But part of her already knew that she would never see them again.

~TTIMS~

Thorn Redfern was a natural vampire, abandoned as a baby by whoever his parents were. The people who had found him in the cardboard box had named him this because he was found under a rose bush. He was picked up by circle daybreak just a few weeks after being put in the care home as reports of the children gaining strange wounds attracted their attention. The very tell-tale sign of two small puncture holes leaking blood.

He had spent the last 3 years living in the big mansion with everyone else, but he wasn't a normal child. Not loud and annoying, always crying and begging for attention. He was quiet and reserved; he preferred to be alone and shunned as much company as he could. Especially intelligent for his age he enjoyed reading and drawing at which he excelled, even his stick men had shading.

When Isabella arrived everybody put them together, two children of the same age, what a wonderful opportunity, now they wouldn't have to be alone. Maybe Thorn would even be happy for once.

At first the two children were very wary of each other, every time Thorn looked at her she instinctually shifted, ready to defend herself if need be. Slowly, when it was clear that he wasn't going to rip her throat out Isabella began to relax. She didn't grow closer to him but when they were made to play together she was no longer quiet and still, she would run and jump, sit and scribble, sing and dance but still keeping a safe distance. Just in case.

One day, this frosty and distant relationship was brought to an end. It started off fairly normally, a beautiful June day everybody thought it would be a good idea to let the children play outside, the fresh air would be good for them. They were sent out with one of Thierry's assistants who said she would look after the young ones.

Whilst she sat on a bench reading her book young Isabella thought that it would be fun to climb a big old oak tree with lots of low hanging branches. She scampered up, higher and higher, excited. Looking down she could see Thorn, watching her, silently of course, with dark curious eyes, looking amused and sceptical.

Well, she thought, I'll show him, as she continued to climb higher still. It got to the point where she was about three quarters of the way up and looked down in order to gloat even further. Then she saw how far away the ground was and her legs locked. They began to shake as she clung to the branch, eyes wide with fear, heart pounding. She couldn't bring herself to move let alone climb down, she didn't realise her fear of heights until that very moment.

On the ground looking up Thorn saw the sudden change in her behaviour and sighed, he had known this would happen. Little wolves were too full of bravado, they did not know that they were made to stay firmly on the ground. But he couldn't let this foolish little girl get stuck there and so he began to climb up to her, slowly helping to unwrap her from the branches she clung to his back instead as he brought her down back to safety.

~TTIMS~

From that day on they were inseparable, at first it was because Isabella would not leave him alone, she would follow him everywhere, like a lost puppy, with wide adoring eyes. And then as they got older it became more of an even ground Isabella started to develop a very loud and stubborn personality to counteract his quiet but equally stubborn nature, however Thorn was a lot more patient than she would ever be.

They fought, a lot, but it never usually lasted long and it was only really because they were so alike that they fought at all. They equally enjoyed each other's company and did everything together, reading, writing, playing, eating. Everything. Isabella would shift into a wolf and they would play chase and they would always visit their tree. She found that she wasn't so scared of heights when he was with her.

When Thorn turned 13 he was given the choice of whether or not to start training so that when he became 18 he could join as a fully-fledged member of Circle Daybreak. Of course he wanted to agree immediately but that meant it would take up his time and he wouldn't be able to see Isabella as much, he couldn't leave her, so he begged for another year so that they could both train together.

For many years all was well and peaceful between the two best friends. But it was no destined to last.

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**Please please review! I really really want to know what you think and I promise this does get more exciting!**

**Much Love,**

**MaryandMerlin x**


	2. Of Running And Rescuing

**A/N: Hello all once again! Sorry that this has been so long in the coming, I have recently gotten myself a job and by the time I get and get all settled I'm so tired that i fall into bed and don't surface again until the morning. Exhausting stuff this guys. Anyway, please enjoy the update!**

**Thank you to all those who reviewed this story and/or followed/favourited it. It means a lot. I love you all.**

**Disclaimer: Nope I don't own anything except the storyline and currently two of the characters.!**

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The Thorn in My Side

Chapter 1 – Of Running and Rescuing

At first the only noise was of feet pounding rhythmically along the corridor, one foot after the other like the building had a heart beat and here two little blood cells were rushing along one of its many veins, but they were human as the heaving breaths of the two people also broke the silence around them. The corridor seemed never ending, it was so white, pure surgical white, so bright that with the lights it was difficult to look directly at it, every so often the pattern was broken with a door of pale stained wood.

Then it all turned red. A warning alarm shrieked from speakers lining the walls, screaming for everyone to hear about the two intruders. The lights that flashed with the warning bathed the whole place in a red glow, from surgical to hostile. The two figures kept running, hearing doors open behind them and more people pour out, shouting.

As the people gained on them Isabella swore, but it was drowned out by the combination of the alarm and the people. She roughly shoved the file she had been holding into Thorns arms and stopped running, turning to face the way she had come. With a growl she started running towards the four attackers, and as they got closer and closer, almost to the point of collision she leapt, shifting in mid-air.

She was wearing a suit of the same material Katsa wore, which changed with her. Her bones slid out of place and shifted getting smaller and changing shape, her face elongated and her ears shifted and all over her body hair started sprouting, a mixture of black and silver creating a rippling effect.

When she landed on the first attacker she was no longer Isabella but a beautiful but deadly wolf. Her silver black fur rippled as her muscles tensed and relaxed, the vampire beneath her cried out as she knocked him to the ground but he was quickly silenced as she ripped out his throat with her razor sharp teeth.

Thorn had reacted seconds later. He ran too, straight for them but heading for the witch first, taking her out before she could cast any spells. As he fought he watched Isabella, unable to comprehend how she still managed to be graceful whilst brutally killing people.

On the other hand Isabella had been trying her best to ignore him, it was something she did anyway on principle, but there was an extra little something when they were fighting that urged her to watch him, to watch out for him. Training had done well for him, she knew, knowing exactly how he would fight and just what the new muscles in his arms and torso would look like all tensed. Stop it. She scolded herself, refocusing on the task in front of her, only one more stood standing but she didn't look scared, it was almost like she was relishing the challenge.

Isabella growled deep in her throat, and snapped at the female vampire who simply barred her fangs in a gruesome smile in response. Both women bunched their muscles ready to leap when Thorn intercepted them fighting his own. With a snap kick to the head he managed to plunge his hand into the creatures chest, pulling its heart clean out. Grinning he turned to face Isabella, not realising where he had put himself, at the same time the female vampire leapt for him. Isabella went into overdrive, there wasn't time to warn him so she leapt too, turning her body so she knocked Thorn aside too safety, claws out she managed to rake her opponents leg but at the same time fire raked across her back and she let out a high pitched whine.

Her body hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and before either of them to react or recover the vampire was scrambling backwards, growling as blood poured down her leg.

More footsteps thundered, and Isabella tried to raise herself but she couldn't manage it. Urging Thorn with her mind and eyes to take the file and run she fully expected him too, putting the mission ahead of everything was the most important task. But he didn't.

Without a seconds hesitation he ignored the discarded file that lay blood splattered on the floor and scooped her up just as reinforcements rounded the corner at the end of the corridor. Not looking back he ran for the door, and Isabella wasn't sure if it was the continuing colour of the alarm or the loss of blood that was making her vision go red and blurry.

~TTIMS~

Thorn ran as fast as he could whilst still supporting the figure in his arms, he grew increasingly sick the paler she got, blood still flowed freely from her back, coating his arms and leaving a shiny trail on the floor. Outside the limo was waiting for them and carefully he placed her on the seat whilst shouting at Whinnie to floor it.

For a moment Thorn felt weakness, taking a second to catch his thoughts also allowed him to breath in the heady scent of blood that coated everything. His teeth started to sharpen and momentarily he almost lost his nerve. But then his hungry eyes hit her face and all of a sudden the desire retracted, replaced almost with tenderness.

He set to work, carefully cutting open the back of her suit and examining the three long claw marks that raked her pale skin. The first aid supplies were kept under the seat and doing his best in the speeding car he cleaned and bound her wounds.

Half way home she woke up, slowly at first but as soon as her brain clicked on she shot up, clutching at the tattered remains of her shifter suit and looking around wildly. When she caught sight of Thorn she calmed slightly but looked no more pleased.

"What happened?" she bit out.

"When you took that hit for me, you got hit pretty bad." He replied calmly, holding her eye but behind his back his hand clenched into a fist so tight it was shaking. "You lost a lot of blood so you shouldn't try to move too quickly."

Loathe as she was to admit it she was reeling slightly from light-headedness. Thorn looked at her and saw that she was practically shivering, after the shock and the wound he wasn't surprised and her suit offered little protection now. As his only option he began to unbutton his own shirt, slipped it off and handed it to her. She looked between him and the shirt almost reluctantly, a faint pinkish hue tainting her cheeks, but eventually her pride gave in and she slipped it on, buttoning the oversized garment. She looked quite cute.

"You should be careful," he continued in that same wary tone. "When I carried you out I may not have been as gentle as I meant to be.

That's when she remembered what had happened, and what he had sacrificed in order to save her, and she saw red.

"For goodness sake! Why did you let that whole thing go to waste you had a chance to get out of there alive, with the file but no instead you had to go and play the hero meaning now we have to go back in there."

"Isabella" he tried but she continued on with her rant, completely ignoring him.

"I don't understand why you still insist on babying me, you made it completely clear long ago where you stand. I wish you'd just let me get on with my life instead of going back on your word constantly…"

"Isabella!"

"All the time, this way and that more than a freaking yo-yo! And now you left the file, the one lead that we had on the final wildpower and you stupidly let that chance slip through your fingers because you think you owe me something. Well let me tell you something Redfern, you don't owe me anything and I certainly don't want anything off you! Of all the stupid, irresponsible things to do."

"Izzy!"

That got her attention. Quick as a flash she looked at him, daggers of ice spiralling from her eyes and her voice took on a wolfish tone as she all but growled at him. "I told you never to call me that."

"If you'd just let me speak for one second" he sighed, exasperated. "Then you'd find out that all is not lost."

"Oh really," she sniped "and how is that?"

"Because," he said reaching to the seat behind him and pulling forward a wad of paper. "I may have left the file, but I managed to swipe the content."

With a sigh Isabella lay back into her seat, feeling now at last able to relax she gave Thorn a look over, half glare, half curious. She didn't understand him, not even a little bit, but it annoyed her that he could have let the mission fail. It didn't matter now though, she said to herself, settling in for the rest of the ride home. They had the information.

Her eyes grew heavier and eventually drooped shut, as she peacefully drifted off.

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**Please, please, please keep reviewing and let me know what you think about it because I love to hear from you all.**

**Much love, MaryandMerlin x**


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